Clint’s Notebook: Dereck Lively II
Our basketball recruiting director pens his signature evaluation for Duke’s incoming center from Pennsylvania.
The commitment of Dereck Lively II was a big one for the Duke basketball program and especially Jon Scheyer. The 7-foot-1 athlete from Westtown School (Pa.) is a five-star prospect and the No. 2 rated player in the entire class of 2022 by the 247Sports composite.
The agile and extremely bouncy center picked the Blue Devils over a host of other elite high major programs including Kentucky, North Carolina, Penn State and dozens of others.
The long and lean 220-pounder cemented Duke’s recruiting class as the top haul in the country, and proved that the Scheyer era will start off with the kind of firepower fans have come to expect. The Duke fan base can rest comfortably knowing that there won’t be a drop-off in talent as Mike Krzyzewski exits his esteemed position.
Lively gives the Blue Devils an elite center, and the best defensive interior player available that the 34-year-old coach could have secured.
ATTRIBUTES
Athleticism: If you’ve never been able to see Lively play in person, his reflexes are astounding to watch. He runs, cuts and jumps with ease and he’s light on his feet. The way he is able to change direction, stay balanced and accelerate to cut off an angle near the basket make it miserable for slashers. His speed allows him to recover quickly, move into passing lanes and he’s able to not only secure rebounds in his immediate area, but outside of it as well. Simply put, Lively is the best athlete that Duke has ever signed at the center position and his speed, agility and leaping prowess is the best that Duke fans will have seen since Casey Sanders was signed out of Tampa, Fla., in the late 1990’s.
Rim Protection: The best words of affirmation that we’ve seen about Lively’s rim protection came from his AAU coach from Team Final, Rob Brown. Brown told Bull City Hoops that Lively was a rim shield. The senior has great timing and gets his long arms so high in the air that his mere presence in the lane will discourage drivers and shooters. He regularly pins shots to the glass, but also keeps the ball in play to cause turnovers. His quick feet showcase his help side ability as a defender and he rotates quickly and instinctively. He protects not only the area around the basket, but the region up to 12 feet in the air, which is two feet above the rim, for good measure. I feel comfortable saying that Lively could be the best shot-blocker ever to suit up for Duke, but it’s very likely that he will only play one season of college basketball.
Transition Game: The commitment of Lively will allow Duke to play fast. In fact, Lively is as fast end-to-end as many of the guards and athletic wings. He sprints the court with ease and changes direction quick on turnovers to go into attack mode in transition. He gets a lot of his scoring opportunities in transition and loves to dunk the ball emphatically on the break. He’s also all over the rim for offensive rebounds and follow-up buckets on the fast break, so he’s a great clean up guy on the glass. Having someone like Lively on the floor will make Duke play fast, because other big men won’t be able to keep pace with him. He runs with the guards.
Defensive Versatility: Here’s the thing with a lot of centers that generally hurts them at the college level and pro level. Good coaches will put them into high ball-screen situations. And they’ll be stuck guarding smaller guards and wings in space away from the basket. And once the opposing team spreads the floor and isolates the big man on the switch, they’ll generally get exposed defensively for their inability to slide to their feet or closeout on a shooter. Lively is different here and it’s a strength. He is so quick and light on his feet that he can guard the smaller guys closely and if he does get beat, he can recover with his length and explosive bounce. The quickness of this big guy is an insurance policy against the game plan of the opposing team. His AAU team switched on every screen and won the entire EYBL. Lively was one of the biggest reasons why.
Outside Shot: While he isn’t a terrific driver, Lively has a good looking outside jumper with range to the three-point line. And his ability to catch and shoot makes life easier to his teammates. Generally when you have a center who is no threat to shoot from the outside, his defender can stay back and pack the lane to assist with defensive compensation for the other drivers and interior scoring threats. Lively’s credibility as an outside shooter makes his man come out and guard him when the ball gets swung around in the half court set. Lively isn’t an elite outside shooter, but this is an area that he has improved greatly over the past year.
OVERALL
Simply put, Lively was one of the most important recruits to sign for Duke in the class of 2022.
He’s an elite level rim protector, incredibly gifted athlete who can run the floor effortlessly. He makes Duke a better defensive team from the moment he steps on the court in famed Cameron Indoor Stadium. He’ll allow his teammates to overplay on the wings without fear of getting beat back door. He is a sensational offensive rebounder who will pick up garbage points on the glass, and he’s an empathic finisher in transition. Duke hasn’t had a center this athletic since Casey Sanders, but unlike Sanders, Lively has reliable hands and the ability to knock down some jumpers from the perimeter and mid-range.
Great write up Clint. Real good detail. I would like to see him develop a post up game using dropsteps and jump hooks. Love his potential.
Are you planning on doing this with the rest of the recruiting class?
Love the write up. It’s also great to hear he’s got reliable hands. Like you said, that was the biggest problem for Casey.